George Plimpton
|
|
|
|
George Plimpton |
George Plimpton |
Now The Capote Tapes delivers a fresh portrait that reinvigorates our understanding of this vital writer, much like I Am Not Your Negro renewed our sense of James Baldwin. Among the film's revelations are newly discovered tapes of interviews that The Paris Review co-founder George Plimpton conducted with Capote's friends for a never-completed biography.
The film dwells strongly on Capote's final uncompleted novel Answered Prayers that set out to expose Manhattan's social aristocracy after he befriended them. He published three excerpts as magazine pieces that caused high scandals and recriminations, but no further manuscript was ever found. Plimpton's tapes shed new light on what happened. They are interwoven with Capote's notorious television appearances and insightful interviews with the likes of Dick Cavett and Jay McInerney. One unexpected interview is with Capote's assistant Kate Harrington whose father was his lover.